Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Epic Chicago Adventure

Last weekend Ben, Fiona and I took a road trip to Chicago. To try to ensure the most peaceful driving time, we concocted a masterful plan which did not work out at all, and after an aborted plan to sleep halfway in a hotel, we got to Chicago about 10 hours ahead of schedule. At this point I have to give our friend Shannon the 'nicest person on the planet' award for happily welcoming us into her home a whole day before we told her we'd be there. Just so you all know, if anyone visiting us arrives 10 hours early, you'll be handed a vacuum and told to make your own bed up ;-)

On Friday we took some naps, and went to the mall to give Fiona some exercise. In the evening Tim and Shannon hosted a gathering of people at their house and Fiona and Sophie got to hang out. Sophie is Ben's college friend Tom's daughter, she's 3 months older than Fiona...

Sophie and Fiona had fun playing together. Toddlers are funny... frequently the 'playing' would turn into a battle over the item that was being played with... they both really wanted to push a little shoe rack up and down the hall like a shopping cart, and would get annoyed when the other was pushing in the opposite direction from the other end...

It was a really fun night, and both Fiona and Sophie had a great time playing with Ben's friend Tim, who was happy to build block towers for them to knock over, and balance blocks on their heads.

He and Shannon are expecting a baby a week before us in February so it was good practice :-)

On Saturday after a delicious breakfast we went to the Children's Museum with Tom, Angel, and Sophie. Fiona had a great time, particularly driving a car...

And doing her shopping...

In the evening we got together with Ben's cousin Jim, and some other friends and cousins and played some games and ate real Chicago pizza... mmmm.

It's super deep, with cheese and fillings underneath and sauce on top. (Picture 'borrowed' from here).

On Sunday we went with Tim and Shannon and Tom and Sophie to the Lincoln Park Zoo. Fiona loves animals, and had a great time.

We saw all kinds of primates doing all kinds of things...

Ate ice cream for lunch...

And saw some big kitties...

Here's proof we were all there...

We even managed to tire Fiona out so completely that she did something she almost never does and fell asleep!

We had a great time! On Sunday evening we headed back home, and on Monday morning we all slept in late. It was a super fun weekend! Thanks everyone for making it such a fun visit! We're looking forward to the next time!







4 comments:

Cathy said...

Looks like an amazing fun trip. Weather looks really good for the zoo too.

Michelle said...

That sounds like such a fun weekend! I definitely want to visit Chicago whenever I finally make it over to visit you guys!

Mum said...

What a sleepy baby - looks like you exhausted the poor child with all that fun! I'm glad you all had such a good time - the weather seemed better too!

Louise said...

Hi Cathy! The weather was lovely! We really lucked out!

Michelle - it was really fun! You should definitely visit there some time!

Mum - she walked round the entire zoo, I was really impressed, but yep, she was tired by the end!